


Jetko Renaissance Week

by I_Deal_In_Nightmare_Fuel



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Drabble Collection, Fluff and Angst, M/M, all the prompts are fluff but i'm gonna make it angsty, firebender jet, firebender jet all week long, idek what to tag this, it's gonna be all firebender jet, it's one continuous story, make this a tag pls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:08:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27089134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Deal_In_Nightmare_Fuel/pseuds/I_Deal_In_Nightmare_Fuel
Summary: A collection of drabbles for Jetko Week 2020. Ratings and warnings inside.Sunday: ConfessionsMonday: WarmthTuesday: PromisesWednesday: TendernessThursday: DevotionFriday: FamilySaturday: Free Space
Relationships: At the end - Relationship, Jet/Mai/Zuko, Jet/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 64
Kudos: 51
Collections: Jetko Renaissance Week





	1. Sunday: Confessions

**Author's Note:**

> Rating: Gen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of Jet's secrets - the secret - decides to come out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating: Gen

His breath is too hot. His breath is too hot and his skin is on fire but painless and his insides are too warm and exactly warm enough and he doesn't know _why_ -

 _You know exactly why,_ his stepfather's - his dead stepfather, that was the only good thing to come out of the fire - his stepfather's voice hissing in his head. _Ashmaker mutt._

No. No, shut up, shut _up,_ he hasn't sparked in _years_ , he doesn't _do_ that anymore (but he just _did_ and he _hates_ it, he hates what he is, he hates his father who decided that it would be fun to spend a night with his mother).

He can't go back to his Freedom Fighters. He can't go back to anyone he knew. They'd kill him. They'd kill him on the spot and he's a coward and _he doesn't want to die._ He wanders the streets of Ba Sing Se, unsure of where to go, but somehow his feet carry him to the Jasmine Dragon. Li. Maybe Li can help.

He slips in the back door and into the private apartment, surprising Li at the sink. "Jet!" he hissed. "What are you doing here?"

"I need you" is all he can say.

Li sees him then, really sees him, sees the tiredness in his posture, the lost expression on his face. Maybe he even sees the heatwaves that were coming off of his shoulders. He takes Jet in his arms, letting his head droop onto his shoulder, and drags him to the bed. "Oh, baby. No wonder you've been going crazy, if you've been keeping yourself from bending this whole time."

What -

How -

"I'm not - how -"

"Shh. I can tell." There's a hand in his hair. Li's. Why is he not afraid of him? "And I can teach you." So that's why.

Wait.

"You're an ashmaker?" he hisses, pulling back.

Li shoots him a tired look, not moving from his position on the bed. "So are you."

It's hard to argue with that. He lays back down, and Zuko's hands continue to defy his expectations, running through his hair, curling around his back, stroking his skin ever so lightly. Two secrets hang between them, mixing together to become only a single secret, one they share together, and one Jet knew they'd both die for.

It was good to be together.


	2. Monday: Warmth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After last night, Zuko decides to introduce his boyfriend to fire slowly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating: Gen

Jet wakes up disgruntled, unsure of where he is, until he recognizes the arm around him as Li's. The bed is small, only barely fitting both their bodies. Li's head is tucked into the back of his neck.

It had been a long time since he'd been the little spoon. He can't even remember who it was he'd been with.

What happened last night? Usually he'd sleep near his Freedom Fighters, but something tells him he can't go back to them, that he'd unlocked something last night that makes him abhorrent. And he doesn't think he has the strength to wake up Li anyways.

Speak of the devil - Li stirs just as he thinks it. He feels a light kiss on the back of his neck and hears Li's voice behind him. "You up?"

"Yea," he says, not moving.

"You ready?"

For...for firebending lessons.

He'd thought that was a nightmare. He'd hoped that was a nightmare.

There's only one response he can give. "I don't know. I wanted it to be a dream."

"It doesn't have to be a nightmare, Jet. You don't need to suppress your bending, you just need to learn how to control it. There's nothing wrong with you."

The words wash over an unready Jet, who tries to receive them but can't quite make himself believe them. He nods anyways as he repeats those lines inside his head. _There's nothing wrong with me. There's nothing wrong with me. There's nothing wrong with me._

Even the words themselves feel wrong.

"Come on," Li says, and pulls him up. "I'm going to introduce you to something. You don't even have to bend for this."

* * *

Jet follows Li out the window after getting dressed and sits down next to him on the roof. "So. What exactly are we doing?"

"Firebenders need the sun, Jet." He sighs. "We're just soaking up the sun for a while. Take off your shirt."

Jet blinks, then grins. "Yours first."

"Babe. We are _not_ making out. We're just sunbathing, strictly training."

"You sure?"

_"Yes."_

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Well, it's good to see you're just as horny as before. I was so worried." Sarcasm drips from his tone, chastising Jet gently.

He ducks his head and takes off his shirt obediently, laying back and sighing. "So. What exactly are we doing?"

"Focus on the sunlight." Li takes off his own shirt and lays back beside him. "Focus on warmth, on your own inner fire. Just be in tune with it."

Jet doesn't respond to that. He doesn't know how. So he just lays back and tries to follow Li's directions, closing his eyes and feeling the warmth of the sun soaking through his skin. The heat inside him responds, grows, and - wait no, he can't let it out, no -

"Jet!" Li's voice cuts through his panic. "Jet, breathe! It's okay. You're not going to bend. Just breathe. Breathe." He gulps down huge lungfuls of air, trying to calm down, but that only fueled the flames inside and he was panicking again, please he doesn't want to spark, no _please no_ -

"Jet, please. It's okay." Li's shadow fell across him and he looked up to see a concerned pale face hovering over him. "It's okay, Jet. You have to learn how to let your fire breathe."

 _Let it breathe. Let it breathe._ The words ring over and over in Jet's head and he repeats them under his breath like a catechism, trying to calm himself as the heat in his chest starts to grow and contract, grow and contract. It feels...it feels good. The warmth feels good and Jet begins to release the tension in his muscles. Li moves away from him, letting sunlight reach him again, and Jet's breathing begins to slow as he relaxes into the warmth, trying not to care about whether he sparked, slowly coming down from that fear.

It's nice when he manages to let go. He's so warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So apparently it's gonna be Firebender!Jet all week. Enjoy, my friends. You're in for a wild ride.


	3. Tuesday: Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko wants to make sure he doesn't lose his Jet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating: Gen

They sit together at dinner that night. Mushi doesn't say a word about what he almost certainly overheard last night, just lights the burner for the tea with a flick of his fingers. So Jet had been right.

That doesn't matter now, or at least not the way it used to.

The food is simple but good, but Jet can't swallow more than a few bites. He's still terrified that he'll spark and they'll turn on him, even though he _knows_ they're firebenders, knows they're firebenders _too._ What a strange, topsy turvy world he lives in now, where he's safer with the ashmakers he used to hunt than he is with his own kids. But Li is by his side, and Li will guide him through the wreckage of his life turning upside down. He slips his hand under the table and into Li's, and Li squeezes his fingers before bringing his hand back up onto the table.

"Jet?" he says. "I want you to promise me a few things."

"What?" He can tell that Li's serious right now, and he also knows he'd promise Li anything.

Li takes Jet's hand in his own, bringing it to his heart. "Promise me that you won't do anything drastic, okay? Remember what I said. There's nothing wrong with you."

 _There's nothing wrong with me._ He repeats it in his head a few more times. "I promise."

"Promise me you won't tell your Freedom Fighters - about us, at least."

"I promise. But I think they already know about _us._ "

"I meant the firebending, idiot." Li ducks his head, trying to hide the blush on his cheeks, but he doesn't let go of Jet's hand, and Jet lifts that hand up to kiss Li's fingers. "But still, promise me. I don't want your kids mobbing us or the Dai Li after us."

"Alright. I promise that too." Jet sighed. "I don't think I'll even tell them about me. Hell, I'm not sure if I can ever go see them again."

Silence descends over the table for just a moment. Li and Mushi are refugees - of course they understand.

"One more thing," Li asks. "I want you to promise me that you'll practice, and that you won't hate yourself for bending."

That's a hard one. Jet sighs. "I can promise to practice. I'm not sure I can promise...the other thing."

"That's fine. Just try."

Jet swallows. "I'll try."

Li squeezes his hand again and puts it down on the table. "It's gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay." Jet's head leans to the side, coming to rest on Li's shoulder, and Li runs a hand through his hair, murmuring softness in his ear. The worry coiled in his chest, weaving through his flames, begins to ease. Maybe it would be okay.

Jet sleeps next to Li again that night.


	4. Wednesday: Tenderness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko finally has Jet summon a flame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating: Gen

Li leads him outside the wall for their next lesson. He says he doesn't want people to see, and Jet's heart hammers - it must be time to actually make a flame.

A block rises in his throat, pressing the tears to the front of his eyes. He doesn't want to do this. He's scared.

The sky is bright blue above them, the sun hot and white, and Jet finds himself soaking in its light, feeling his new inner fire breathe, to try and relax. Warmth spreads through his body and releases the tension in his muscles. His worry begins to slide away, but it's hard to get rid of completely, and eventually he just sits down in front of Li on the soft grass.

"Hold out your hands," Li says softly. "Cup them like this."

Jet obeys, forming his hands into a cup.

"Now, close your eyes and breathe. We're just going to make a small flame."

He obeys again, but he doesn't know how to make a flame. He doesn't remember (he doesn't let himself remember) how to do that. Li's hands wrap around his own. "It's okay, Jet. Breathe. Breathe and focus your flame above your hands."

Focus the energy. He could do that.

The fire in his chest began to flow down his arms, and he breathed deeply, trying to sustain it. He didn't want to open his eyes. He didn't want to see what he knew was there.

Li sighed in front of him. "Jet. Open your eyes. You need to get used to this, get used to bending."

His eyes screwed up, and he felt Li's hand go to his face, resting on his cheek. Who knew an ashmaker could be so tender. "Baby. It's okay. Open your eyes."

Slowly, grounding himself with that hand on his cheek, his eyes flutter open and he focuses on Li's face. Li glances down and Jet follows. A small, orange flame flickers between his palms, cheery and bright and beating with the rhythm of his breath. It feels alive. It feels like an extension of himself, an extension of his soul.

"It's a heartbeat," he murmurs distractedly.

But it's still fire. He takes his hands apart and snuffs out the flame, wincing at the twinge in his chest. Li looks disappointed. "You're gonna have to learn how to be ok with this, baby."

"I know. Just - not now, ok?"

Li sighs. "Alright. Tomorrow then." He stand up and pulls Jet to his feet. "Back to the house, then."

They walked back hand in hand.


	5. Thursday: Devotion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko watches as Jet leaves, for a time, and hopes that his love won't spill his secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating: Gen

Jet sighs as he stands in front of the door. Not to the teashop. How long had it been that he'd stayed with Li and Mushi, training and recovering (and falling just a little bit more in love with Li every day)? Days. Weeks, maybe. But now he stands here, in front of a door, scared of who's behind it. His fire, now ever-present, curls in his chest, warming him in response to his agitation. He needs to knock. He needs to knock now, before he loses his nerve.

His fist makes a sharp noise against the door and he winces at the loudness. It's early, still morning, and he's not sure if he's woken anyone up suddenly. Apparently not, because the door opens quickly with both occupants waiting.

"Hey, Bee," he manages to say. "Hey Longshot."

"Jet!" Bee yells, running forward to hug him. She looks just the same as before, and so does Longshot, and their arms wrap around his torso as he squeezes them tight. His worry dissipates in the face of their relief. "Jet, we were so worried, you were gone for _ages!_ We were scared you'd gone and -" She pauses, unable to say the words. "Done something drastic."

"Nah," he says, trying to brush it off like it was nothing. "I've just been hanging with Li for a while." His eyes flicker to the rooftop, where Li's hiding somewhere, in case something goes wrong. "He's cool."

"Didn't you think his old man was a firebender?"

And here he has to lie, really lie. Silently he thanks the spirits for all the practice he has. "Turns out I was wrong. They're cool." He's sure Li's relaxing somewhere. "They helped me out for a bit, get my head back on straight. You know." Li doesn't have to worry; he's not gonna spill their secrets, not to the Dai Li, not even to his crew.

"That's good." Bee swallows. Both of them are still hanging on to him. "What happened...it was just a trick of the light, right?"

"Right. It wasn't anything. You don't need to worry, I just got startled. The whole thing with Li and Mushi took a lot out of me, I wasn't thinking straight." He hadn't been thinking straight since the fire that claimed his town. "It's good to be back with you guys. But the thing is -"

"What? What happened?"

Jet laughs, tries to set his kids at ease. "Just that Li wants me to come back and stay with him every so often. We kinda...well." He winked, making Bee laugh herself.

"No," she teased. "You got back together? Wonder if he might join the crew."

"Maybe." There's no way, given what they'd done. "That'd be nice." Finally he let his kids pull him inside, and, throwing a look over his shoulder at somewhere Li might be, closed the door behind him.


	6. Friday: Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azula finds out, and Zuko finds himself with a ticking time bomb on his hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating: Gen  
> Yes I know this is late. I had to do like three essays for my final midterm today.

Azula plays her part well, her lackeys - _friends,_ excuse her slip - by her side and strengthening the illusion. Their makeup works well. Apparently the Earth King has never met the Kyoshi warriors, nor did he know of the war before just a few days ago. It will be easy to overthrow him.

But that's not important right now. Her brother is in the city.

Oh, she hadn't known before, but she'd suspected. She always suspects. Zuko's a weasel; he always shows up at the wrong times, always manages to mess with her plans, always resists her efforts to control him. At the very least, she needs to keep track of him. Which is why she's here now, perched on a rooftop across from a teashop named the Jasmine Dragon, watching her brother chat with someone who just might be the terrorist of Gaipan.

She remembers her father's file on him. A rogue firebender with a burning hatred of the nation, who hadn't bent since his village burned. Except now he is, a tiny white flame that flickered with nervousness, burning in the palm of his hand as he talks to her brother. What are they saying? She can't hear them - they're too quiet. She hates it. She hates not knowing.

The White Fire terrorist snuffs out the fire in his palm and steps forward, kissing her brother on the mouth - and her brother leans into the kiss. Forget what they were saying. This is dirt of the _highest_ quality; should she tell Mai immediately, or keep it to herself? She knows Mai still has a thing for Zuko. This would break her heart, crush it to bits, leave her trembling with anger and hurt and ready to be set loose on him.

The terrorist's hand comes up to tangle in Zuko's hair as they kiss. Affection. Disgusting.

(No, she isn't _jealous._ )

That's not what matters. She turns her head away from the scene and leaps from rooftop to rooftop to get back to the palace unnoticed. She'll tell Mai tonight.

(That has nothing to do with being jealous.)

* * *

Jet's sprawled on the chair on the apartment when there's a knock at the door. It's late. Really late. Way past the Dai Li-enforced curfew. Who could be at the door, and how did they get approval from the Dai Li...or how did they get past them?

Li opens the door and Jet immediately sits up. The girl at the door is dressed in dark Fire Nation reds and black and very clearly very pissed.

"Mai," Li says, voice caught between surprise and happiness and dread. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

Her glare focuses on Jet behind him. "Clearly." She sighs, making even a sound of resignation feel judgemental. "Zuko, we need to talk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no regrets. But I do have /plans./


	7. Saturday: Grand Finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things tangle together, but like any knot those involved begin to smooth it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating: Gen

"Go," Uncle says, gently pushing a tea tray into his hands. Three cups and a pot of ginseng tea. Three cups.

Zuko takes a deep breath and releases it, trying to hold back embarrassing tears. Jet's curled on the chair he was just lounging on, head between his knees, trying to process the revelation Mai brought with her. Zuko doesn't blame him. At least he's not trying to kill them.

"Come on, Jet," he says gently, watching as his lover stirs from his fetal position. "Let's talk."

Mai looks up from the bed (his bed, which she commandeered soon after arriving) as soon as they walk in the room. The ginseng wafts over to her nose, apparently, as she sits up. There are tear tracks on her face. A lump forms in Zuko's throat and he swallows hard to try and get it out, make it stop the hot pressure behind his eyes from everything crashing down around him. He should have known better, he should have guessed his old life would intrude -

"Ginseng?" Mai asks, and only Zuko can hear the tears in her voice.

Zuko lays down the pot and tugs Jet into a sitting position near him. He still looks vacant, hollow-eyed, even as he shuffles to kneel behind Zuko. "Yea," he says, in response to Mai's question. "Uncle made it." Mai leans back down again, hugging the pillow, and Zuko begins to tangle his fingers in her hair, the way they used to before - before. He feels Jet's arms wrap around his waist, trying to tug him back ( _a little possessive, aren't we_ ) but he doesn't outright stop him.

"I'm - sorry," is all he could think of to say.

Mai curls up just a little. "It's fine. It makes sense that you'd want to move on." Her voice is dead, monotone, and Zuko knows it means she's covering up all the emotions curled in her chest. Jet seems to react to it too. "I just -" She sighs. "It doesn't matter what I want anyways."

That hits Zuko hard. He remembers how her parents treated her, the way she's never been her own person. How she's never been allowed to be her own person. He knows how Azula can get - how does Mai deal with it? "I - it _does_ matter, I promise, and - I'm sorry. If I had known you'd be here - if I'd known I'd see you again..."

He doesn't know. He loves Mai, he's _in_ love with her, has been for years, but Jet was a whirlwind when they met and Zuko's not sure he had a choice in getting swept off his feet so thoroughly. But if he did, apparently he'd chosen wrong, and now he had to make another choice.

Mai doesn't respond to that, so Zuko just continues to stroke her hair, making little braids and accidentally curling a few strands. Jet watches her over his shoulder, though whether it's with interest or suspicion Zuko can't tell.

"So," Jet says, and Zuko tenses, afraid that he'll start flinging accusations. "You two were - dating, before Li - Zuko - came here?" His tone is carefully neutral. It's a strange day when Jet doesn't want to start a fight.

Mai looks up from her curled position, focusing on the face of the boy who's clinging onto her Zuko. "We were betrothed. Nobility stuff, kind of jacked up but at least I got a decent match."

"Nobility." Jet's hands leave Zuko's waist to clutch at his shirt as he turned his face downwards, resting his head on Zuko's shoulder where his chin just was. "Oma and Shu."

Zuko stops stroking Mai's hair for a second to run his hand through Jet's, trying to calm him. It's the least he can do.

Mai finally sits up again, grabbing a cup and filling it with now lukewarm tea. "So. Azula told me you were the Terrorist of Gaipan. The boy with white fire. There's a file on you at the palace."

It's clear there's a dozen questions Jet wants to ask as he begins to slide back out from behind Zuko, but the one he settles on is: "I have a file?"

"Yea. The Fire Lord's been keeping track of you since he received the Rough Rhino's report. Apparently he's been using you to off problematic officers."

His face fell at the last sentence. "He's been using me? And the whole time I though I was doing something that hurt the Fire Nation. Ugh." He fell backwards, apparently relaxing at Mai's lack of venom.

"Apparently," Zuko murmured. He turned to Mai. "Do you want me to heat that for you?"

"Yes please." She hands him the cup of tea and he warms it up, doing the same for Jet with a new one before finally pouring one himself. It's good tea. Uncle's tea is always good.

They talk more, and surprisingly enough there's no fighting, but there is tension. Neither Jet nor Mai can entirely forget what's at stake here. That night Jet leaves and Zuko sleeps alone.

* * *

Mai visits often, telling stories of the Earth King's palace and filling Zuko and Iroh in on Azula's plans. She and Jet try navigate around each other, scared of striking sparks with a fight and setting alight the fragile dry tinder that was Zuko, and slowly they become familiar with each other's jagged edges, relaxing as they see themselves in each other's glass-shard souls. They begin to sit next to each other, or on either side of Zuko, tossing good-natured jabs at each other. Mai starts to think that maybe Jet isn't so bad, with his knowing smirks and white flame and messy hair. Jet starts to think that maybe he likes seeing Mai smile.

Their first kiss is out in the alley behind the teashop. Jet's lips are calloused and rough, a nice contrast to Zuko's cultured softness. Zuko himself watches from the window, entertaining the horrible, selfish thought that maybe they could be three instead of two.

That night, all three fall asleep curled up together.

* * *

It's a surprise when Zuko runs into Katara, but not a surprise to find Jet and Azula in the crystal catacombs. He catches Mai's eye and gets a nod early in the battle. Ty Lee backs out of the battle and doesn't fight, and so Azula fights alone, but she fights hard and it's an effort to subdue her long enough.

The Gaang escapes the Dai Li with an intact Aang and three new people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I have finished the grand finale to this week-long rush of writing. It's been fun, and at least I've got some completed works for next week's Urzai Week :P


End file.
